Dancer Ponni

STUDIES:

M.A (Bharatanatyam):Kumararani Meena Muthiah College of Arts & Science Expected to be graduated in 2016

Nattuvangam in Bharatanatyam: Nattuvangam in Bharatanatyam( June 2009 – August 2012 )

MSW (Working on Health & Substance Abuse) : Centre for Social Initiative & Management, Chennai(June 2006 – August 2007 )

Dancing Lower:Government of Tamilnadu Technical Examination, Chennai

Diploma in Bharatanatyam :Government Music School, Tuticorin(July 2002 – June 2004 )

B.Sc (Maths) :VOC College of Arts & Science Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tuticorin (VOC College of Arts & Science Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tuticorin )

The clanging of the 'nattuvangam' resonates with the synchronised thumping of more than a dozen pairs of feet. Dressed in purple and blue, the children elbow one another in the cramped room, but they snap to attention when their guru dances to the invocatory song.
The room is small and in a ramshackle tenement, but the clutter does not hamper the passion with which Ponni, a transgender, leads her students. "I want to be as graceful as her," says 12-year-old R Supriya, trying to perfect her mudras in front of the mirrors that line one side of the class.
Located in a slum in Vyasarpadi on the outskirts of Chennai, Abhinaya Nrithyalaya is the outcome of Ponni's 20-year dream. "I've wanted to set up a dance school for slum children since my childhood in Tuticorin when I was rejected by a dance class because it was open only to Brahmin students. I used to secretly stand by the window and watch them dance," recalls Ponni, who underwent a sex reassignment surgery in her 20s.
Ponni's secret hideaway was discovered by the dance teacher who was moved by the young boy's passion and inducted him, much to the dismay of his parents who were anxious about his effeminate behaviour. "I knew I was different from others. Dance helped me come to terms with my sexuality," says Ponni, who completed a BSc in Maths before pursuing a three-year diploma course in Bhartanatyam at the Government Music School in Tuticorin.